Black Ohio teenager Ma’Khia Bryant was shot and killed by a white policeman while she was attacking an unarmed black teenager. The officer had ascertained, with video corroborating, that Bryant’s arm was in trajectory that, without intervention, would have successfully stabbed her victim. The officer made the correct decision, but as with any justified shooting, will still weigh on his mind for the rest of his life.
Normal people don’t wield knifes, guns or axes. In this last year we have seen a lot of crazy stuff. Could you imagine being a police officer and approach a tense situation, then seeing a sixteen-year old girl who could easily be judged as an adult, attacking another lady, with the knife wielded and in fact in motion to stab the victim? While the victim was lucky that there was a hero police officer carrying a gun and her life was spared, this white police officer risked not just his career but his freedom to save the teenager. While it is sad another black person was killed by the actions of the police, in this case the police officer made the split second life saving shot to see an innocent life being saved. Thank God that there was not only video documentation of this fully justifiable act, but that there was audio confirmation with regard to the initial 911 call that called about Bryant’s action in the first place.